Cairo: Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for stricter regulation of the digital ecosystem to protect children from exploitation. Osinbajo spoke in Cairo, Egypt, at a session organized during the 16th Annual Conference of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) to deliberate on the proposed Cairo Declaration on Child Rights and Design Accountability in the Digital Age.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the high-level session, titled ‘Guardrails, Not Gates: Protecting Children in the Digital Age,’ was organized by the Justice Research Institute (JRI), in collaboration with the African Alliance for People-Centred Justice (AAPCJ) and with support from Luminate. Osinbajo, who chaired the session, emphasized the need to move beyond approaches that place the primary responsibility for online safety on children and parents. He advocated for digital environments that prioritize safety, dignity, and development for children rather than relying on them to manage risks.
Osinbajo, a professor of law, stressed that Africa’s response must be grounded in rights, accountability, and innovation. He observed that effective regulation should not seek to exclude children from the digital world but should ensure that it is designed with their safety in mind. “The objective is not to build gates that exclude children from technology. It is to establish guardrails that ensure technology works for children rather than exploiting their vulnerabilities,” he stated.
Also speaking at the session, Mrs. Idumu-Shado highlighted the Cairo initiative’s need for African policymakers and legal practitioners to proactively shape the rules and standards governing digital design. She noted that children in Africa are entering a digital environment largely designed elsewhere, and it is crucial that their rights and interests are considered in the design, deployment, and regulation of digital technologies.
Mrs. Idumu-Shado emphasized a people-centred approach, questioning whether the digital environment serves the best interests of the child. If it does not, she argued, the law must require those who design and profit from these systems to change their operations. The proposed declaration provides an opportunity for African lawyers, regulators, civil society, and technology stakeholders to establish a common continental position and develop context-specific legislation and regulation.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that lawyers, judges, regulators, policymakers, and child rights advocates across Africa attended the program, which aimed to advance continental standards for children’s digital rights. The discussions focused on who should bear responsibility when digital products and artificial intelligence systems expose children to exploitation, manipulation, harmful content, excessive data collection, and other digital risks.